In a processing or manufacturing facility, the managers, supervisors and operators control and monitor the equipment and processes of the facility in a hierarchical fashion. For example, an operator may run equipment 1 through equipment k, while another may run equipment k+1 through equipment n in the same process. Each operator must be knowledgeable in the operation of each piece of equipment, such as the optimal operating temperature range, the maximum liquid intake amount, etc. The operators must also have the ability to spot any trend in the performance of the equipment which may signal future problems. In the event that a piece of equipment is down for any reason, the operator must take steps to diagnose the problem and contact additional personnel to repair the equipment if required.
The supervisor of the process, which typically includes the operation of more than one piece of equipment, is involved with the operations of the process. A supervisor determines, for example, when the down time of one piece of equipment requires its operator to put in double shifts in order to keep up production. The supervisor, like the operator, must possess vast knowledge and experience related to his area of responsibility in order to make educated decisions. A manager, who has domain over the facility, which may include more than one process, must be knowledgeable in facility operations as well as the performance goals of the facility. It is therefore not surprising that it may take an operator, a supervisor or a manager numerous years to accumulate the amount of experience necessary to proficiently perform all of his duties. Accordingly, it is a costly process to train and retrain personnel.
More specifically, in facilities related to oil and gas production and processing, there exists a hierarchy of equipment and processes. For example, in oil production, a production center controls and monitors the production of a plurality of well sites, each of which may include one or more oil producing wells. The oil from each well flows into a tank battery or is pumpted thereto by pumping units. Parameters such as the flow rate and oil temperature are monitored to ensure and maintain the oil production of each well. Additionally, the production of a group of oil wells, which produce oil for a tank battery, is monitored.
In oil and gas processing, the oil obtained from oil wells are processed by oil separation, gas conditioning and produced water handling processes. Each process is performed by operating a number of pieces of equipment such as vessel containers, heat exchangers and pumps, the operation of each being monitored and controlled by operators.
A hierarchical process control system and method is described in detail below that mimics the human manager-supervisor-operator hierarchy operating on the facility, process and equipment levels. The hierarchical process control system and method is applicable to processing and manufacturing facilities alike, such as the oil and gas related facilities described above in addition to traditional manufacturing environments. In addition, monitor and control tools, such as artificial intelligence, simulators and statistical analysis, are used to operate on current operating data as well as data stored in databases. The process control system may be generic at the equipment level, except for the data contained in each of the databases, so that large portions of the system are portable to other facilities. The hierarchical process control system may be instituted incrementally or partially in a facility by implementing those processes or groups of processes which would benefit most from such implementation.
The present invention provides for a hierarchical process control system and method and is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.